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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in West Hill, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Frequently asked questions relating to West Hill leasehold conveyancing

I only have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in West Hill. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering West Hill.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in West Hill.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a two flats in West Hill which have about forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in West Hill. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a West Hill conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a West Hill conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non West Hill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • How many lease extensions has the firm completed in West Hill in the last 12 months?
  • What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in West Hill from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in West Hill can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in West Hill levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in West Hill.
  • Some West Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a West Hill home move. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a West Hill conveyancing firm to help?

    if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the premium.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Hill property is 158 West Hill in November 2010. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the freehold reversion should be £99,650 This case affected 7 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 75.88 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in West Hill